Chapter 103

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**Good News and Bad News (1)**

“Yeoreum!”

“Toya?”

“Seriously, I was _so_ worried! I kept wondering if you were eating properly, if you were sleeping well! You can’t even sleep properly without my pillow, remember?!”

“That’s true…”

There was a time I tried sleeping without Toya’s pillow because I felt bad about taking it from her—but I ended up tossing and turning all night.

Although… weirdly enough, I actually slept really well this time.

Hmm… was it because I shared a bed with Koyuki?

I tilted my head and looked at Toya, who was staring at me with a face full of concern.

“I missed you, Toya.”

“I missed you soooo much too.”

But this wasn’t the time to say things like, _“I was fine without you.”_

So I told her I missed her and hugged her close. Toya’s face melted into an emotional expression, clearly touched.

Isn’t she a little _too_ easy to move?

She buried her nose into my neck and took a deep breath, and I giggled as I patted her back.

At this point, it felt like Toya was more dependent on _me_ than I was on her.

“I was so scared you hated me…”

“There’s no way I could ever hate you, Toya! Ahaha…!”

One thing I could say for certain—no matter what happened, Han Yeoreum could never hate Toya.

…Maybe I should stop running away all of a sudden from now on.

I mean, I ran away because I was embarrassed, but thinking back, it wasn’t _that_ big of a deal.

Toya says things like that all the time anyway.

“Let’s go back home, Toya. Sorry for running away for so long.”

“It’s fine… I guess I understand how moms feel when they send their kids off on camping trips now…”

“Pfft, what is that supposed to mean!”

I burst into laughter at her silly comparison.

Sometimes Toya really says the funniest things.

When I giggled at her slightly flushed cheeks, she started fidgeting, trying to hide her embarrassment.

There’s something oddly heart-fluttering about Toya blushing like that.

It’s like discovering a rare, precious treasure you don’t normally get to see.

“Oh, right—I’ve got some good news and some bad news. Which one do you want first?”

“Good news and bad news… hmm, I’ll take the bad news first.”

I didn’t know what Toya’s bad news was going to be, but it’s always easier on the heart to hear the bad news before the good.

That way, the good news can cheer you up afterward.

Besides, I doubted it would be _really_ bad. If it were, she wouldn’t present it like this.

“Okay, bad news first—I’m going to be at the office more often from now on. And for longer hours too.”

“…So you won’t be home?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

Toya gave me an awkward smile.

She clearly felt bad about not being able to be home with me.

But… Toya going to the office? That felt strange to think about, like I was accusing her of skipping work or something…

Anyway, Toya usually worked from home with me, so this meant something important must be going on professionally.

Like, for example—

“The good news is… you’re preparing for your live concert, right?”

“Bingo.”

“Congratulations, Toya. Oh, and didn’t your iTube subscribers pass one million recently? So this is for the celebration live?”

“…Honestly, how are you so sharp?”

Of course I’d know! We live together—there’s no way I _wouldn’t_ notice.

I puffed my chest out proudly, and Toya gently patted the top of my head.

Still, if Toya would be going to the office for her live preparations, that meant I’d be alone at home.

No, wait—that’s not true. Koyuki lives next door.

Maybe I could just spend time at Koyuki’s while Toya’s away.

_But…_

There’s no way Toya hadn’t thought of that.

If she was worried about me being alone, that’d be unnecessary.

So for her to call this bad news—it must mean she hated that _she_ wouldn’t be able to spend time with _me_.

Okay, this might sound a little narcissistic, but Toya really _loved_ being around me.

“Yeah, it’s because I won’t be able to spend as much time with you while I prep for the live… That’s why.”

“That’s not really a problem, is it?”

“…Huh?”

“I’ll just come with you to the office.”

Actually, it’s such a simple solution.

If Toya had to go to the office and also wanted to be with me, then I could just tag along.

I wasn’t an outsider or anything.

Plus, the office had streaming setups too, so if needed, I could even stream from there.

Ah—though I’d have to bring my keyboard and mouse.

“Wouldn’t it be tough waking up early every morning? Are you really okay with that?”

“Well… I’ll just go to bed earlier, I guess…”

I laughed as I replied to Toya’s concern.

To be fair, I really _am_ terrible in the mornings.

Usually, Toya finishes making breakfast before I even manage to crawl out of bed.

And even then, it takes me a while to actually _wake up_.

Even as I said this, I wasn’t 100% confident.

But Toya seemed incredibly grateful just to hear me say it.

“I’ll do my best, Toya.”

“Yeah, let’s both give it our all.”

Toya will be working hard on her live concert prep.

I’ll be working hard to wake up early until her concert’s over.

With a smile, we both said, “Let’s do our best.”

—

**[Did Toya’s live concert schedule drop?!]**
_(Image: Screenshot of Toya’s 1M subscriber live announcement)_
Wait—is this real? _Toya_ hit 1M subscribers?

– [V-Spe’s “Queen.”]

– [But there are only 4 people in V-Spe lol.]

– [Hey, even a small kingdom is still a country.]

– [So what, you’re saying you support the China Dream now?]

– [Never thought the day would come where Toya would hold a 1M live…]

– [Wish she could do it in Korea.]

– [What happened to the Korea live they talked about?]

– [It was never confirmed. Just something they said they _wanted_ to do.]

– [Besides, Yeoreum’s already in Japan lol.]

– [True, no point in going back when she’s already here.]

– [(Toya: V-Spe’s Queen emote)]

– [Is this V-Spe’s big break?]

– [One million alone isn’t enough for a boom tbh.]

– [Bro, 1M is mid-tier, don’t act like that’s small.]

– [Yeah, but V-Spe _is_ a small agency.]

**[Would be cool if Natsu sang at Toya’s 1M live.]**
_(Video: Yeoreum singing “Will You Marry Me”)_
If she sings this, Toya will probably just start crying and nod yes.

– [Kimchi guy seducing a sushi girl.]

– [No, it’s now a sushi girl seducing another sushi girl.]

– [Wait, doesn’t Natsu have Korean nationality? Why sushi girl?]

– [Because her twin might be Japanese, duh.]

– [If her twin is Japanese, doesn’t that mean Natsu could get Japanese citizenship too?]

– [Yeah, and her twin could get Korean citizenship too.]

– [Damn, wish I had a hidden twin in Japan or the US…]

– [When was this even recorded?]

– [She sang it on Valentine’s Day.]

– [A forever-alone streamer did a romantic song on Valentine’s Day…?]

– [Shockingly, yes.]

– [Amazingly, despite being single, Han Yeoreum streamed content perfect for couples on days like that.]

– [She really did a lot, huh lol.]

– [(Han Yeoreum: “Hey, it’s me, bro~” emote)]

– [All that couple-friendly solo content was prep for _this_, huh.]

**[If V-Spe keeps going like this…]**
_(Image: Screenshot of Han Yeoreum in Kamen Rider cosplay)_
Kamen Rider Yeoreum: CAST OFF!

– [LMAOOOO]

– [Why does this even exist;;]

– [Wasn’t this for Children’s Day when she wore a mask and acted like a Rider?]

– [Yeah, and the gimmick gets more elaborate every year lol.]

– [(Han Yeoreum: Kamen Rider emote)]

– [She’s something else…]

– [She’s not something else—she’s _insane_.]

– [The quiet insane ones are always the scariest.]

– [She quietly TS’d and came back, didn’t she?]

– [(Han Yeoreum: “But I’m pretty~” emote)]

– [Honestly, I liked her better as Han Yeoreum. Natsu’s streams are too soft now.]

– [Never thought we’d see the day when Yeoreum is considered the spicy version lol.]

– [She’s not exactly spicy, but she _was_ more intense.]

– [By that logic, Natsu’s the sweet flavor, right?]

– [Yeah, Natsu _is_ sweet lol.]